Unexpected Meeting
by Tofu-chan
Summary: Kiyone catches up with an old friend...(yeah, I know, bad summary...)
1. Chapter 1

Okay, just before I start. This is my first fanfiction. . At least, the forst one that I felt happy enough with to show anyone else. So, umm, I'd appreciate any comments you have, k? ^__^ Thankie! Whew, deep breath...and here it goes!  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
As Kiyone strode out of her ship, she handed the keys to the mechanic. "Just a quick look over?"  
  
"We've got a few ships at the moment. Hope you don't mind waiting."  
  
Kiyone sighed. "Sure, fine. Just...get it done?"  
  
"That's my job. So, what's this baby called?"  
  
"Yukin-" Kiyone laughed. "No, wait. Sorry. It's the amazingly named 'Star- Blazer'."  
  
"Star-Blazer?"  
  
"That's what the last officer called it. And of course, I'm not allowed to rename it to something a bit less cheesy or flashy."  
  
"No, of course not."  
  
They exchanged tired smiles before Kiyone started to push her way through the crowd. Once they realised that she was a member of the Galaxy Police, the crowd seemed to avoid a foot either way of her.  
  
Ah, the perks of the job, she thought bitterly.  
  
In this manner, she made it to the small cafÃ© that the service station provided. Or course, it was packed.  
  
A waitress smiled apologetically at her. "Sorry. I don't think there's room if you were going to stay. They're allowing take-away stuff now though, if you'd like."  
  
"I guess it beats nothing, right?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"A couple of cups of coffee then."  
  
"Oh, you'll have to join the queue."  
  
"Queue?"  
  
Kiyone's eyes flicked towards the people standing at the counter. Her eyes followed the noisy line along the shop, out of the door, and a little way down the hall.  
  
"On second thoughts, I'll do without."  
  
"Okay. Sorry about that."  
  
As Kiyone turned, she felt a small tap on her shoulder. "Excuse me miss, but someone's waving you over," the waitress said.  
  
Kiyone turned back again, and ran her eyes over the jumble of people. She just spotted a hand beckoning her over to one of the tables. She couldn't see the owner; the queue was blocking them.  
  
Cautiously, she went over, pushing her way through, and then slid down into the seat opposite the figure. As soon as she saw who it was, she grinned and relaxed.  
  
"Ryoko!"  
  
"Nice to see you. S'been a while, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll say."  
  
"You've aged well though," Ryoko snickered.  
  
"Hey, 20 years isn't that long!"  
  
"So you say."  
  
Kiyone shook her head. "You don't seem to have changed much."  
  
"Haven't I?"  
  
Confused by the last remark, Kiyone refrained from saying anything.  
  
"So, where have you been all this time, to sound clichÃ©?" Ryoko pressed. "We knew you'd be away for a while, but 2 decades is a bit extreme."  
  
"They never told us how long we'd be gone."  
  
"Huh. You'd think they'd tell you if you'd be gone THAT long."  
  
"You'd think so."  
  
Ryoko took a quick sip from her cup before saying, "Has Mihoshi got locked in the ship?"  
  
"...What?"  
  
"Or has she got lost already?"  
  
"?"  
  
"Is. Mihoshi. Where. Rearrange and you get..."  
  
"Oh. Umm...she won't be coming." Kiyone avoided looking at Ryoko as she said this.  
  
"Oh." Then Ryoko caught Kiyone's expression. "...Oh. Sorry to hear it. What...what happened?"  
  
Kiyone bowed her head. "A few years in...we were being hired. A new thing the GPs were trying out. We'd been called in by someone to...there was a hostage situation. I was told to stay in the ship and get ready for a quick escape...Mihoshi was sent in though...the guys, our clients, were stuck in there. She, along with some other people, got in, and tried to get them out of there...but there was too many people going against them...there was one option though. If someone else...and, well, to tell the truth, I'm not even sure if it was an accident or whether she did it on purpose. But she made a great sacrifice to get them outta there. By that time there were more ships, and we made it out of there, but Mihoshi...Look, can I leave it at that? I don't really want to go into detail."  
  
There was an awkward silence.  
  
"But anyway," Kiyone tried to brighten the mood, "what's happening with you? I mean, I didn't expect to see you this far away from Earth. How's Tenchi and everyone else? Are they here too?"  
  
It was Ryoko's turn to hesitate and look uncomfortable. "...Where do I begin..." 


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, we were okay for the first few years," Ryoko started, staring into the coffee cup. "Nothing much happened. We just went on like always. About 7 years after you left, Tenchi and Ayeka got hitched."  
  
Kiyone's mouth fell open. "Wow. What about...I mean, weren't you..."  
  
"Upset? Of course I was. But probably not as much as you think I would have been. Or should've been for that matter. You see...I couldn't really say why, even now, but Tenchi and I...I don't know. Maybe I subconsciously took the hint. I just...I never thought it would happen, you know? I thought that I'd always love Tenchi...I mean, I still do, but...well, you get the point."  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Right, well. The King of Jurai of course wouldn't let his precious daughter Ayeka get married on EARTH. God forbid it. So it was held on Jurai."  
  
"What was it like?"  
  
"I heard it was big; one to remember."  
  
"You mean you weren't there?"  
  
Ryoko gave a bitter laugh. "Oh yeah, can you imagine my welcome? I've destroyed several places on their planet in the past. I was hardly on good terms with Ayeka. And besides, I wouldn't have felt right."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"Well. They were due to return to Earth a little while after. Tenchi still had family there, and a strong attachment to the planet in general. But the Juraian royal family kept putting it off and off...they wanted to keep Ayeka there with them. Eventually, Tenchi's grandpa and father were transferred to Jurai instead. We were invited too, but...we decided to stay behind."  
  
"In the Masaki house?"  
  
"Yeah. But with everyone else gone, and just me and Washu...it just didn't work."  
  
"Without Tenchi holding it together...I know. But what about Sasami?"  
  
"She went with Ayeka and Tenchi."  
  
"Makes sense."  
  
"Yeah, well. Washu and me stayed there for a bit. I don't think that either of us wanted to leave because we'd be 'abandoning' the other. A couple of months in, we were invited again to go up and stay with Tenchi and that. I think one was sent out to you guys, but it obviously never got to you." Ryoko took a long drink from the cup. "Ugh. It's gone cold."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Ah, I wasn't thirsty anyway. C'mon, let's go somewhere less crowded."  
  
"I was hoping to get something actually."  
  
"You want to queue in that?" Ryoko jerked a finger towards the queue, which seemed to be moving ridiculously slowly.  
  
"Point taken."  
  
Ryoko stood up and knocked several people out of her way. After forcing their way out of the cafÃ©, Ryoko and Kiyone began to walk to nowhere in particular.  
  
"So," Kiyone prompted. "You were saying?" 


	3. Chapter 3

Ryoko leant against a rail and continued. "Right. So, we were invited to come and live up at the palace or whatever you want to call it. Washu accepted."  
  
"You didn't?"  
  
"...Not at first. I still wasn't sure how welcome or comfortable I'd be. But after a week, I gave in. It turns out there was a job going too; later I found out that Tenchi had reserved it for me, kinda thing."  
  
"What kind of job?"  
  
"This might sound strange. I became the Royal Bodyguard."  
  
"..."  
  
"Both you and I know that Tenchi didn't need yet another bodyguard. But I didn't say anything to him. It wasn't as if I did anything in particular. But it was fun anyway. I won't pretend that going to all those huge events was my cup of tea. But just hanging around was nice. I guess you can appreciate that."  
  
"Heh, yeah. So you didn't have any scares?"  
  
"Nah. Tenchi's one of those people who no one even thinks to attack like that, you know? Loved by all, etc. So everything was pretty quiet. Then, I guess I got bored. Or something. So I left. Travelled for a while."  
  
"Went back to your pirating ways?" Kiyone raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Hey, what do you take me for? I kept out of trouble. Mostly."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Yeah, uh huh!!!"  
  
"So you've been wandering ever since then? That's a long time."  
  
"No. I went back when I heard that...when I heard about their daughter."  
  
"Daughter!?"  
  
"Yeah. Little Hanako. That was about 5 years after I left."  
  
"Was she Tenchi's daughter?"  
  
"What did you say!?"  
  
"I meant, did she take after Tenchi more than Ayeka!"  
  
"Oh, I thought...uh, yeah. Yeah, definitely more like Tenchi, thank goodness. She had his eyes. Such a sweet little thing."  
  
"So that's two Masaki's you've watched grow up," Kiyone pointed out.  
  
Ryoko tilted her head. "So it is. I can't help but wonder if I saw more of Hanako growing up than either Tenchi or Ayeka did."  
  
"I thought they'd have made good parents."  
  
"And I'm sure they did. It was just that they didn't get a lot of chance to look after her. Some guy was causing disturbances across the other side of Jurai. When he heard, Tenchi insisted that he went over to sort things out. You know what he's like. And Ayeka wanted to go."  
  
"I heard something about that. But of course, I never linked it that strongly with Tenchi and Ayeka. Did you go too? Being the Royal Bodyguard I would have thought that-"  
  
"No. Tenchi said that...that he wasn't sure he wanted to leave the child with just anyone. Not sure how safe she'd be and that. So he asked if I'd look after her."  
  
"So Hanako stayed with her Aunty Ryoko."  
  
Ryoko smiled. "I didn't want to be 'aunty'. Just...Ryoko. It was more likely that we'd get along in later life that way...it might just be me. But I kinda felt that if Washu hadn't told me about her being my mother, then we'd have got on better than we did. But as I said, that might just be my view on it."  
  
Kiyone gave a half smile. "You liar."  
  
Ryoko flicked her eyes upwards. "...Okay. I didn't want to...get pulled in. I didn't...I don't belong there. In that life."  
  
They were interrupted by a voice over the speakers calling, "Would the owner of the ship in dock 15 please come for collection. Repeat, would the..."  
  
"That's me." Ryoko pushed herself away from the rail, and started to walk off.  
  
Kiyone ran up to her side. "You can't just leave like that! What happened then? Look, can I walk with you to the ship?"  
  
Ryoko shrugged. "Suit yourself. But I have to stop off somewhere first." 


	4. Chapter 4

"So?"  
  
"What?" Ryoko looked blank.  
  
"You know what. C'mon, you were saying about how you were looking after Hanako?"  
  
Ryoko lowered her head. "You really want to know all this, don't you? Well, Tenchi and Ayeka were the other side of Jurai as I said. And that's...umm, never mind. So, what's life been like-"  
  
"Whoa, hold on. That's WHAT? Ryoko, come on!"  
  
"..."  
  
"I have a right to know all of this! Tell me!"  
  
"...Tenchi had set up a meeting with the guy who was doing all of this. I don't know his name. But they didn't want it to be held on Jurai. So Tenchi suggested this small planet, out of the way of anywhere. The agreement was that neither would take any war ships, or anything like that. When Ayeka found out that Tenchi was going, she went too, and so did Sasami. That left the one year old Hanako with me."  
  
"Did Tenchi sort it out?"  
  
"...It was a set up. This guy had people waiting, huge guns at the ready and so on. Tenchi didn't suspect a thing, and so neither did Ayeka."  
  
"They didn't make it back?" Kiyone's voice rose a little in panic.  
  
"Well, although Tenchi trusted them, one of the general's didn't. He secretly sent soldiers after them. Good thing too. They somehow reversed it; turned it into a hostage situation. This guy was so powerful and influential, it seemed, that they didn't want to do anything to get him killed."  
  
"So it was okay!" Kiyone let a relieved sigh escape. "You had me worried."  
  
"..."  
  
"Where are we going, anyway?"  
  
"Here. I have to meet someone."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"She'll be here in a...there she is!" Ryoko bent onto one knee as a small girl, about 8 years old, ran up to her and threw her arms around her neck. "You alright then?"  
  
"Yup!" The small girl smiled and let go as Ryoko stood up. "I told you so."  
  
"Sure did. I'd like you to meet someone. This is Kiyone; she's an old friend."  
  
The girl politely held out her hand. "Pleased to meet you."  
  
"Hey there!" Kiyone shook the girl's hand, slightly confused. "You're a very pretty little thing. Such lovely brown eyes!"  
  
"Thank you ma'am." The girl blushed slightly. "I've been told that they look like my Dad's did."  
  
The voice came over the speakers again. "Would the owner of the ship in dock 15 please-"  
  
"We'd better be off then." Ryoko smiled. "You go on ahead. I'll just say goodbye to my friend. Tell them to wait for just a little bit, unless I catch you up, okay?"  
  
"'Kay Ryoko!"  
  
The girl ran off. Kiyone tilted her head. "She's not yours, is she?"  
  
"Not as such..." 


	5. Chapter 5

Ryoko shook her head, as if to dislodge something. "I'd really better go."  
  
Kiyone nodded. "That's fine. Maybe we'll catch up with each other some day?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Well, I'm really dying for a coffee now. Even enough to go and stand in that queue."  
  
"It's emptied quite a bit; maybe you won't have to."  
  
Looking around, Kiyone realised that Ryoko was right. The crowds had thinned considerably. "Well, nevertheless."  
  
"Right. See you whenever then."  
  
Both women turned and walked away. After a few steps, Ryoko stopped.  
  
"Ki...Kiyone?"  
  
"Hmm?" Kiyone turned to see Ryoko looking down, her back still to Kiyone.  
  
"You were right." Ryoko's voice was subdued. "You DO have a right to know all of this."  
  
Kiyone walked back to Ryoko. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I said that Tenchi's problem was turned around. The 'bad guy' was being held hostage?"  
  
"Yeah...?"  
  
Ryoko took a deep breath. "I can only tell you what I've heard myself but...well...everything was going okay. But one of them must've called for help when they saw the Juraians coming in. A few people came marching in and ruined everything. When Tenchi's guards saw what was happening, one took a shot at the guy to end it. Someone jumped in the way and...the person who dived in the way flew into the guards holding this guy. He made a run for it. Another few ships arrived, one of which was a huge thing, radiating power...it took a single shot after the others had left, and...the result of it all was that this guy escaped somewhere, and Tenchi, Ayeka, and almost everyone else were...they didn't make it out of there."  
  
Kiyone was stunned into silence.  
  
"...Someone suggested that it had been an inside job, someone in the palace. Washu was accused. I suppose you could understand why...they couldn't prove her guilty exactly, but there was nothing to suggest she was innocent either. So she was taken away. I don't think they killed her; it's more likely that they sealed her somewhere."  
  
"...Oh god..."  
  
"As soon as I heard about Tenchi, I took Hanako and ran. I wasn't going to sit around and wait for everything to come crashing down around me! ...That was about 7 years ago."  
  
"Would the owner of the ship in dock 15 please come. This is the final call."  
  
"...I'd..." Ryoko shuffled her feet. "I'm sorry...that you had to find out this way."  
  
Without waiting for Kiyone to say anything, Ryoko turned and left.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Well? Whadd'ya think? I hope it wasn't too bad! As I said, I'd love to hear any comments! But, uh, PREFERABLY no flames, k? ^__^;; 


End file.
